Lydia Kaiser, one of the 18 students wounded in last week’s mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church and School, remains in critical condition Thursday afternoon but is making “remarkable progress,” a hospital spokesman said.
Nick Petersen of Children’s Minnesota released a statement from Lydia’s family that disclosed she sustained a traumatic brain injury and had surgery on the day of the shooting to remove bullet fragments.
The 12-year-old had a portion of her skull removed to alleviate swelling and reduce pressure on her brain, the statement continued. She “is making remarkable progress in her recovery,” it said, as she continues her stay at Children’s Minnesota.
According to an online fundraising campaign started to help Lydia’s family with medical and other expenses, Lydia’s father, Harry Kaiser, is an Annunciation gym teacher and “was also in attendance and helped to secure the room, to keep children safe, and stuck with them all until they were reunited with their families, even while his daughter was entering the emergency room.”
On Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance made time during their visit to the Twin Cities to meet with Lydia at the hospital.
Harry Kaiser read a statement following the Vances’ visit urging the vice president to take action against gun violence in the United States.